Library News

The WDM Public Library is thrilled to now offer ABCmouse.com, an online early learning resource, to our patrons. The award-winning ABCmouse curriculum is designed to help young children (ages 2-8+) build a strong foundation for future academic success. ABCmouse is 100% educational, with more than 10,000 learning activities (books, puzzles, educational games, art activities, songs, etc.) across all major subject areas—reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music. Over 1,000 of these learning activities are in Spanish.

This weekend, the West Des Moines Public Library hosted an open house to commemorate the $3 million renovation that wrapped up in April 2021. The celebration also marked the 25-year anniversary of the building at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway which broke ground in 1996.

This renovation became a part of the Library’s strategic plan in 2017 and came to fruition in early 2020 despite the setbacks from the Coronavirus pandemic. In fact, even with COVID-19 and the renovation, the Library was only closed for 81 total days from March 2020 to April 2021.

When the West Des Moines Public Library opened its then-new location here at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway in 1996, the City celebrated the creation of a beautiful space for the community to gather and learn. During this initial celebration, the building was festooned with many decorations, including helium balloons. In true balloon fashion, they found their way to the highest and most unreachable parts of our ceiling, creating a home for themselves for the next 25 years.

From Carol Grant, Secretary, WDM Library Board of Trustees:

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the West Des Moines library to reopen.  Two reasons…first, it’s been a year since Covid squelched my ability to leisurely browse the stacks. Secondly, I can’t wait to see (and experience) the final results of the renovations that have taken place over the past 20 months.

Due to needed phone maintenance, the phones at the library after 6pm tonight, Tuesday, April 13 may get interrupted.  Curbside service will continue to 7pm as usual.  

Pull up, call the number as usual - 515-222-3404 - but if you cannot get through, staff will come out to check with you.  

Thank you for your patience!  

Phone service should be re-connected by Wednesday morning.  

Curbside Pickup of holds is available during our Renovation Closure. 

As of 4/8/2021, we have EXPANDED Curbside Hours!  These will continue until we reopen in late April.

Hours for Curbside during Closure:  

     Monday - Thursday, 9am - 7pm

     Friday - Saturday,  10am - 2pm

To Use Curbside: 

Amazon is withholding ebook and audiobook versions of works it publishes through its in-house publishing arms from US libraries.  This may affect the offerings provided to patrons via our statewide Bridges service from OverDrive, though we don't yet know the impact.  

Here is a good article from The Verge outlining the issue.  

"A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people."  Andrew Carnegie 

I spent an hour volunteering at the WDM Library Concierge Desk recently.  As President of the Board of Trustees, this is just one way that I am able to directly engage in the work of the library.  Although the Board of Trustees meets every third Tuesday of the month, to transact  important business, connecting with the day-to-day operations of the library is important to understanding more fully what goes on inside the walls at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway. 

The West Des Moines Public Library will close for at least six weeks starting March 1 as the library enters the final stage of its nearly 18-month renovation. During the closure, contractors, engineers, movers, furniture vendors and library staff will re-open areas of the building currently closed, finish design and structural work, install new furnishings, fixtures and technology, re-install shelving currently in storage and assess, sort and re-shelve 30,000 library materials stored off site since the beginning of the project.  

CALL FOR ARTISTS 

Public Library Story Room Mural 

City of West Des Moines 

Printable PDF version

WEST DES MOINES: COMMUNITY 

West Des Moines, IA–At a mid-day meeting of the Library Board of Trustees on January 5, board members decided that The West Des Moines Public Library will reopen to limited walk-in traffic starting at 9am on Monday, January 11.

Remember the West Des Moines Library Friends Foundation as you make your final contributions for 2020 - or your first ones for 2021!   

A donation to the Friends Foundation is a tax-deductible gift that helps support WDM Library programming and materials.  This last year, they funded the new Valley Junction Library Kiosk.  Every year they give 1000s of dollars to support our extensive programs for adults and children, including our book clubs and Summer Reading.    

Thank you from the Friends!  

Welcome, friends!  After months of work, our new West Des Moines Public Library Website is up and running!  

We have reorganized and refreshed our graphics, our information, and our look.  The whole site has been made more mobile-friendly, with easy links to our many wonderful services - some of which may be new to you.   

We hope you like our bright, fresh new look and feel.  We invite you to explore and enjoy!   

This renovation project probably feels like it has taken a long time–remember October 2019 when the library closed for the first renovation stage and your librarians packed up over 30,000 books for storage? We moved all the stacks around and dove into Phase 1 of our project. That transition took two long weeks and it felt like ages before we were able to welcome you back inside (little did we know what was in store for all of us this year…ha). During Phases 1 and 2 the second floor of the library received its refresh.